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Category: Web 2.0

“I Coulda’ Had a V8” – Social Media in the Real World

“I Coulda’ Had a V8” – Social Media in the Real World

It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with the substance of Social Media.  There’s a reason for that.  Mostly its become that which I always said it would: simply a tool in the toolbox of the community developer. So where are we now, really?  We’ve certainly passed the point where Social Media was the next big thing.  While not all the cool kids have moved on, there are signs that even the most ardent NMDBs are tired of the endless…

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How Google Will Ruin the Cloud

How Google Will Ruin the Cloud

I really enjoy having access to my stuff in the cloud.  Docs I can pull down anywhere, anytime, mail that isn’t tied down to a single machine, etc. Unfortunately, there are problems with the cloud, and with handing off services to companies like Google, which most of us aren’t thinking of. Over the past couple months I have had 4 major problems big cloud based services.  In each case, save one, it was impossible to get actual customer service from…

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Demand Media and the New Economy of the Journalist

Demand Media and the New Economy of the Journalist

Demand Media has been a constant topic of conversation among online journalists of late.  It all began with this article in Wired entitled “The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model“. Plenty of other companies — About.com, Mahalo, Answers.com — have tried to corner the market in arcane online advice. But none has gone about it as aggressively, scientifically, and single-mindedly as Demand. Pieces are not dreamed up by trained editors nor commissioned…

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The Blogs as Aggregator

The Blogs as Aggregator

Over the past two years, we’ve seen the genie come out of the bag on blogging.  In the good old days if you wanted our content, you came to our blog.  Now, our content is being automatically posted in a bunch of spots, perhaps on Facebook, Google Buzz, Google Reader, and even the headline shows up on Twitter. Then we throw our participation on those other sites in, and now we’re all over the place.  It’s hard for us to…

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Mattel Adds SMDB Barbie

Mattel Adds SMDB Barbie

Mattel today announced they’ve add “Social Media Douche Bag” to the list of Barbie’s professions.  The new Barbie, which comes complete with it’s own iPhone, iPad and Twitter account will hit store shelves soon. “This career just kind of happened.” notes Mattel product coordinator, Roberta Smith.  “We had a ton of left over ‘Journalist Barbies’ and ‘Dental Hygenist Barbies’ and we had a quick look at where those folks were going when they were laid off, and there it was,…

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The Illusion of Privacy

The Illusion of Privacy

The launch of Google Buzz this week has once again brought questions of privacy and social networking applications to the forefront.  Just as many of us have questioned over the past few years the repeated failure of Facebook to respect our privacy. To my mind, this is a very simple thing: never post anything to any networking service that you wouldn’t want to see again.  Ever… People have lost jobs over what they have posted on Facebook and elsewhere.  I…

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The Day Social Media Went Mainstream – Google Buzz

The Day Social Media Went Mainstream – Google Buzz

Google decided that I was ready for Google Buzz this morning, and it magically appeared in my email console.  If you haven’t heard of it, watch this video: On first take, when viewed inside of gmail, Google buzz seems to be a real yawn.  Just another place where you need to update statuses to keep in touch with folks. Exactly what I’ve been warning would become the death of social media, the great diaspora wherein we all end up on…

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NY Times: When iPhone Apps Are Too Smart

NY Times: When iPhone Apps Are Too Smart

The big secret of iPhone apps is coming out of the bag: most apps that are downloaded are rarely, if ever used. While I’m not saying we’ve jumped the shark here, it is important to note that if the New York Times has picked up on this fact, then it’s approaching common knowledge.  Read their article, “When iPhone Apps Are Too Smart” here. So, for every zealous owner whose iPhone is loaded with little-known programs that predict asteroid fly-bys, there…

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Geo Location Services and the Coming War for Our Whereabouts

Geo Location Services and the Coming War for Our Whereabouts

Over the past few months I’ve been messing with Foursquare…the geo location service-based social network-game.  Frequent readers will possibly remember that I’m not a really big fan of sharing geo location information, even though I’m perhaps one of the few who has directly had his life saved by cell phone geolocation. Foursquare is an interesting study.  By turning the geo location service into a game and allowing the most frequent visitors to locations to earn the title of  “Mayor” of…

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DeLurker Day!

DeLurker Day!

Today is DeLurker Day, the day in which bloggers like myself celebrate our readers by offering you an invitation to leave a comment.  I know there are a lot of you out there that read this blog almost daily, but as you know, there aren’t always a lot of comments.  Take the time and let us know who you are and what you like, don’t like and what you’d like to see here or in the world in general, in…

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